How To Avoid High GI Carbs And Choose Health Instead

What The Food Labels Aren't Telling You

So, you are a health-conscious consumer who prefers wholegrain bread to highly processed and high-glycemic index white bread and refined flour products? You want the fiber, the nutrients, and the heart-healthy, anti-diabetes foods that will not make you overweight? You may be happy to see many labels that give you encouragement at the grocery store:

• "Made with whole grains"
• "Multigrain"
• "Whole wheat"

Unfortunately, the labels you find on your flour products may be misleading. Just like "made with real fruit" can mean there's only a tiny amount of real fruit, "made with whole grains" doesn't mean you have a healthy loaf on your hands, since you don't know how much whole grain was used. "Multigrain" simply means several types of grain were used to manufacture the bread, and even plain old "whole wheat" can actually indicate that there is plenty of refined flour in your bread. 

To locate products that are, in fact, whole wheat products, you'll need to do a bit more research. Look for "100 percent whole grains" and also keep an eye out for the Whole Grains stamp that the Whole Grains Council created if you are committed to eating the healthiest possible kind of bread. 

If the first listed ingredient is a whole wheat flour, the product will almost always be made predominantly with that ingredient. Products that were "made with whole grains" but that do not list these whole grains first may contain as little as one percent worth of whole grains, though they may also have as much as 49 percent. 

If you're dealing with a multigrain product, reading the ingredients list to check which types of grain were used is a little trickier. That's why the Whole Grains Council created the Whole Grain stamp, which is being used more and more widely and which gives much more information. 

How You Can Improve Your Diet

Don't let a fear of white bread and misleading food labels allow you to quit using bread at all — your average adult is still advised to eat three servings of grain a day, and whole-grain bread is a good way to make up at least one serving. When you have a bread-based meal, include plenty of vegetables and lean meats or other protein sources. Don't just slather some jam on your bread and call it a day. Healthy sandwiches and soups served with a side of bread are both good choices.

Now you know what to look for to ensure that your flour product is as healthy as possible. But you will still want to be aware of the fact that even genuine whole-wheat products can contain many other, unhealthy ingredients that will undo all that hard work for you. Whole-wheat cookies probably have a high sugar content, and could also contribute to your saturated-fat intake.

Anyone who is serious about healthy eating should also make absolutely sure that their diet contains a sufficient amount of vegetables and fruits. You can eat all the whole grains you want, but your diet isn't going to be balanced unless you consume between five and 12 servings of fruit and vegetables a day.